Self-Sufficiency, crafts, and homesteading ... with an adventurous spirit

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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Build Day 1: Frame the subfloor

After a few design changes, we finally got started on the actual construction of the Wandering Turtle! The first hurdle - where to place the water tanks so that they would not be exposed below the axle but still distribute weight evenly. After playing with it, we straddled the axles with the tanks. All that was tricky to figure out since the tanks haven't even been delivered yet. (Should be here tomorrow!) Blake made the first cut and my heart soared. My dream is coming true!

Once we got the framing done, we opted for Tyvek house wrap instead of aluminum flashing. I know it may need repairs in a much shorter time frame than aluminum sheathing would. But...Blake made a good point. Tyvek will make it so much easier to access the plumbing in the subfloor should anything need repairing. Cutting out the aluminum or ... even worse ... tearing out the hardwood flooring to access the subfloor for repairs would be a nightmare.

What a lovely day for a build! The next build event will be two days. Our goals: 1) install plumbing in the subfloor framing, 2) lay the plywood subfloor, and 3) frame out the walls. Yikes! That means I need to find the rest of my windows PRONTO!

5 comments:

Hi Emily....I found your blog by searching for tiny home "people and places in FL." I am so glad to see someone else down here has the same ideas as I do. And my ears perked when you were talking about the air/heat system and that you might still return to Asheville. This too is my plan!! While I am considerably older than you (don't ask, it depresses me...lol) I was hoping that we might be able to chat/share ideas about building a tiny home here in FL.

Its always amazing to meet another tiny house enthusiast! You can find me on facebook at Path Less Traveled. Construction has been slow lately because I'm expecting!!! So my energy level bottomed out. I'll be sending some lumber to the mill soon so construction should resume shortly!

I'm not terribly close to Polk, actually in Osteen, FL (Volusia County) but plumbing is DEFINITELY not my area of expertise. I may get with you as we start connecting the tub, toilet, and sinks in a few weeks.